The Bengaluru Bulls will not have Pawan Kumar Sehrawat from this season of the PKL and that is perhaps an insurmountable loss. No other raid comes close to the Naveen Kumar (Dabang Delhi KC) and Pawan Kumar Sehrawat. Vikash Kandola has been brought in as a replacement and while he has done well, it is unlikely he will have the kind of impact his predecessor did.
GB More and Bharat are both excellent raiders and even though it may lack the individual brilliance of Sehrawat, the overall raiding unit for the Bulls is still very strong.
Saurabh Nandal and Mahender Singh continue to stay with the Bulls. The defensive unit is solid and has experience. Overall, this is not a bad side and one we expect to see compete for a playoff spot for sure.
The Telugu Titans are being called the pre-tournament favorites once again. We think they have a solid claim this time around, to be honest. Monu Goyat, Abhishek Singh, and Siddharth Desai form a scary raiding unit that can run over opposition defenses. Any weakness that the opposition shows will be taken advantage of. Desai has not been the most reliable in terms of fitness, though, and that is something that fans will be very worried about.
The defensive unit is also loaded with stars. Ravinder Pahal, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Parvesh Bhainswal on the mat together is like having an all-star team from the previous few seasons. The Telugu Titans have to deliver with this kind of a roster.
The Bengaluru Bulls were the most successful raiding team (433 raids) and the second most successful team in terms of tackle points (261) last season. It will be hard to repeat those kinds of numbers this time around.
We are going to stick with the favorites in this contest. The Telugu Titans have such a strong roster that you cannot afford to go against them at this time. The risks are present. Will there be injuries? Will their players gel together quickly? Will too many stars struggle for power and position? These will be answered over the course of PKL 9 but for the time being, you have to believe they will do well.
Bet on the Telugu Titans to win.